Geofencing Application for Driver Convenience

ABSTRACT

A vehicle computer system, comprising a wireless transceiver configured to communicate with a mobile device. The vehicle computer system further comprises a processor configured to output an alert to a driver of a vehicle indicating a location of a hazardous area when the vehicle is in a pre-defined distance from a boundary of a geo-fence of the driver defining the hazardous area, and activate a vehicle function addressing the hazardous area based upon the vehicle entering a boundary of the geo-fence.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The illustrative embodiments generally relate to utilizing features of avehicle computer system for geofencing.

BACKGROUND

The addition of vehicle information and infotainment systems to vehiclesprovides a wealth of entertainment and information delivery options forvehicle occupants. Through on-board resources and remote connections,occupants can stream music and movies, receive news updates, accessremote databases, obtain navigation information and perform numerousother tasks that used to require a secondary computing system, such as asmart phone or PC with a wireless network card.

Using the onboard system, drivers can communicate with off board,cloud-based resources and access any information useful for driving ortravel. Certain software add-ons allow users to be smart-routed torecommended stopping points, obtain coupons or deals tailored to users,and even alert emergency providers and/or user doctor's in the event ofa medical emergency. Geofencing may also be utilized for vehicles todefine a virtual boundary of a vehicle. Geofencing may be accomplishedby utilizing GPS coordinates of a navigation system in a vehicle.

SUMMARY

A first illustrative embodiment discloses a vehicle computer systemcomprising a wireless transceiver configured to communicate with amobile device. The vehicle computer system further comprises a processorconfigured to output an alert to a driver of a vehicle indicating alocation of a hazardous area when the vehicle is in a pre-defineddistance from a boundary of a geo-fence of the driver defining thehazardous area, and activate a vehicle function addressing the hazardousarea based upon the vehicle entering a boundary of the geo-fence.

A second illustrative embodiment discloses a method comprisingdetermining a driver of the vehicle utilizing one or more vehiclecontrollers and responsively receiving one or more geo-fences associatedwith the driver and a high-crime area along a route defined by routedata. The method further comprises outputting an alert to the driverindicating a location of the high-crime area when the vehicle is withina pre-defined distance of the geo-fence, and activating a vehiclefunction addressing the high-crime area and in response to a requestfrom a remote server based upon the vehicle entering a boundary of thegeo-fence.

A third illustrative embodiment discloses a vehicle computer systemcomprising a processor configured to, in response to identifying adriver of the vehicle and a vehicle route, establish a geo-fencecorresponding to the driver and a high-crime rate area along the route,and executing commands to request a vehicle controller to activate amechanical vehicle function addressing the area based upon entering aboundary of the geo-fence, and output an alert to the driver indicatingactivation of the function.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example block topology for a vehicle-basedcomputing system for a vehicle.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example block topology of a vehicle-basedcomputing system that may be utilized in accordance with geo-fencing.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example flow chart of the vehicle utilizing ageo-fencing application.

FIG. 4 is an illustrative flow chart exemplifying geo-fencing updates atthe vehicle computer system.

FIG. 5 is an illustrative embodiment of a geo-fencing application outputon a vehicle display.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosedherein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodimentsare merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in variousand alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale; somefeatures may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particularcomponents. Therefore, specific structural and functional detailsdisclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as arepresentative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variouslyemploy the present invention.

The invention now will be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which illustrativeembodiments of the invention are shown. This invention, may however, beembodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limitedto the embodiments set forth herein. Like numbers refer to elementsthroughout. As used herein the term “and/or” includes any and allcombinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

A geo-fence refers to a radius or other virtual perimeter defined over ageographic area. Geo-fences may be defined to indicate areas in whichspecific types of attributes affecting drivers have been reported. Forinstance, geo-fences may indicate areas of elevated crime, severeweather, proximity to a destination, or other aspects relevant to thedriver.

Geo-fences may be defined based on data received from various datasources. In an example, geo-fences indicating elevated crime areas maybe identified based on data received from government crime statisticsservers. In another, example, geo-fences indicating weather conditionsareas may be identified based on data received from weather services. Inyet a further example, driver-specific geo-fences may be defined by thedriver.

The types of geo-fence may be further associated with one or morepredefined actions. These actions may include actions to beautomatically performed by the vehicle when the vehicle crosses thegeo-fence, or actions to be performed when the vehicle reaches apredefined distance of the geo-fence. The actions may include forexample, providing an alert, rolling up vehicle windows, activating oneor more vehicle safety features, turning on headlights, or recommendingan alternate vehicle route.

As the geo-fences may be dynamically updated from the data sources, thepredefined actions may be automatically performed for new and updatedgeo-fences, without requiring the driver to have prior knowledge of thetypes or boundaries of the geo-fenced areas.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example block topology for a vehicle-basedcomputing system 100 (VCS) for a vehicle 131. An example of such a VCS100 is the FORD SYNC system manufactured by FORD MOTOR COMPANY. Avehicle 131 enabled with the VCS 100 may contain a visual front-endinterface 104 located in the vehicle. The user may also be able tointeract with the interface if it is provided, for example, with a touchsensitive screen. In another illustrative embodiment, the interactionoccurs through, button presses, spoken dialog system with automaticspeech recognition and speech synthesis.

In the illustrative embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a processor 103 controlsat least some portion of the operation of the VCS 100. Provided withinthe vehicle, the processor allows onboard processing of commands androutines. Further, the processor is connected to both non-persistent 105and persistent storage 107. In this illustrative embodiment, thenon-persistent storage is random access memory (RAM) and the persistentstorage is a hard disk drive (HDD) or flash memory.

The processor is also provided with a number of different inputsallowing the user to interface with the processor. In this illustrativeembodiment, a microphone 129, an auxiliary input 125 (for input 133), aUSB input 123, a GPS input 124 and a BLUETOOTH input 115 are allprovided. An input selector 151 is also provided, to allow a user toselect between various inputs. Input to both the microphone and theauxiliary connector is converted from analog to digital by a converter127 before being passed to the processor. Although not shown, these andother components may be in communication with the VCS 100 over a vehiclemultiplex network (such as, but not limited to, a CAN bus) to pass datato and from the VCS 100 (or components thereof).

Outputs to the system can include, but are not limited to, a visualdisplay 104 and a speaker 113 or stereo system output. The speaker isconnected to an amplifier 111 and receives its signal from the processor103 through a digital-to-analog converter 109. Output can also be madeto a remote BLUETOOTH device such as PND 154 or a USB device such asvehicle navigation device 160 along the bi-directional data streamsshown at 119 and 121 respectively.

In one illustrative embodiment, the VCS 100 uses the BLUETOOTHtransceiver 115 to communicate 117 with a user's nomadic device 153(e.g., wearable device, cell phone, smart phone, PDA, tablet, a devicehaving wireless remote network connectivity, etc.). The nomadic device(ND) can then be used to communicate 159 with a network 161 outside thevehicle 131 through, for example, communication 155 with a cellulartower 157. In some embodiments, tower 157 may be a WiFi access point.

Exemplary communication between the nomadic device and the BLUETOOTHtransceiver is represented by signal 114.

Pairing a nomadic device 153 and the BLUETOOTH transceiver 115 can beinstructed through a button 152 or similar input. Accordingly, the CPUis instructed that the onboard BLUETOOTH transceiver will be paired witha BLUETOOTH transceiver in a nomadic device. Additionally, the vehiclecan pair or connect to a Wi-Fi access point utilizing similar input.

Data may be communicated between processor 103 and network 161utilizing, for example, a data-plan, data over voice, or DTMF tonesassociated with nomadic device 153. Alternatively, it may be desirableto include an onboard modem 163 having antenna 118 in order tocommunicate 16 data between CPU 103 and network 161 over the voice band.The nomadic device 153 can then be used to communicate with a network161 outside the vehicle 131 through, for example, communication 155 witha cellular tower 157. In some embodiments, the modem 163 may establishcommunication 120 with the tower 157 for communicating with network 161.As a non-limiting example, modem 163 may be a USB cellular modem andcommunication 120 may be cellular communication.

In one illustrative embodiment, the processor is provided with anoperating system including an API to communicate with modem applicationsoftware. The modem application software may access an embedded moduleor firmware on the BLUETOOTH transceiver to complete wirelesscommunication with a remote BLUETOOTH transceiver (such as that found ina nomadic device). Bluetooth is a subset of the IEEE 802 PAN (personalarea network) protocols. IEEE 802 LAN (local area network) protocolsinclude WiFi and have considerable cross-functionality with IEEE 802PAN. Both are suitable for wireless communication within a vehicle.Another communication means that can be used in this realm is free-spaceoptical communication (such as IrDA) and non-standardized consumer IRprotocols.

In another embodiment, nomadic device 153 includes a modem for voiceband or broadband data communication. In the data-over-voice embodiment,a technique known as frequency division multiplexing may be implementedwhen the owner of the nomadic device can talk over the device while datais being transferred. At other times, when the owner is not using thedevice, the data transfer can use the whole bandwidth (300 Hz to 103.4kHz in one example). While frequency division multiplexing may be commonfor analog cellular communication between the vehicle and the internet,and is still used, it has been largely replaced by hybrids of CodeDomain Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Domain Multiple Access (TDMA),Space-Domain Multiple Access (SDMA) for digital cellular communication.These are all ITU IMT-2000 (3G) compliant standards and offer data ratesup to 2 megabytes for stationary or walking users and 385 kbs for usersin a moving vehicle. 3G standards are now being replaced by IMT-Advanced(4G) which offers 100 mbs for users in a vehicle and 100 gbs forstationary users. If the user has a data-plan associated with thenomadic device, it is possible that the data-plan allows for broad-bandtransmission and the system could use a much wider bandwidth (speedingup data transfer). In still another embodiment, nomadic device 153 isreplaced with a cellular communication device (not shown) that isinstalled to vehicle 131. In yet another embodiment, the nomadic device(ND) 153 may be a wireless local area network (LAN) device capable ofcommunication over, for example (and without limitation), an 802.11gnetwork (i.e., WiFi, or other standards such as 802.11 a, b, n, ac, p orother future standards) or a WiMax network. The vehicle may also includeits own WiFi router to connect to a wireless access point.

In one embodiment, incoming data can be passed through the nomadicdevice via a data-over-voice or data-plan, through the onboard BLUETOOTHtransceiver and into the vehicle's internal processor 103. In the caseof certain temporary data, for example, the data can be stored on theHDD or other storage media 107 until such time as the data is no longerneeded.

Additional sources that may interface with the vehicle include apersonal navigation device 154, having, for example, a USB connection156 and/or an antenna 158, a vehicle navigation device 160 having a USB62 or other connection, an onboard GPS device 124, or remote navigationsystem (not shown) having connectivity to network 161. USB is one of aclass of serial networking protocols. IEEE 1394 (FireWire™ (Apple),i.LINK™ (Sony), and Lynx™ (Texas Instruments)), EIA (ElectronicsIndustry Association) serial protocols, IEEE 1284 (Centronics Port),S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interconnect Format) and USB-IF (USBImplementers Forum) form the backbone of the device-device serialstandards. Most of the protocols can be implemented for eitherelectrical or optical communication.

Further, the processor 103 could be in communication with a variety ofother auxiliary devices 165. These devices can be connected through awireless 167 or wired 169 connection. Auxiliary device 165 may include,but are not limited to, personal media players, wireless health devices,portable computers, nomadic devices, key fobs and the like.

Also, or alternatively, the CPU could be connected to a vehicle-basedwireless router 173, using for example a WiFi (IEEE 803.111) 171transceiver. This could allow the CPU to connect to remote networks inrange of the local router 173.

In addition to having exemplary processes executed by a VCS 100 locatedin a vehicle 131, in certain embodiments, the exemplary processes may beexecuted by a computing system in communication with the VCS 100. Such asystem may include, but is not limited to, a wireless device (e.g., andwithout limitation, a mobile phone) or a remote computing system (e.g.,and without limitation, a server) connected through the wireless device.Collectively, such systems may be referred to as vehicle associatedcomputing systems (VACS). In certain embodiments particular componentsof the VACS may perform particular portions of a process depending onthe particular implementation of the system. By way of example and notlimitation, if a process has a step of sending or receiving informationwith a paired wireless device, then it is likely that the wirelessdevice is not performing the process, since the wireless device wouldnot “send and receive” information with itself. One of ordinary skill inthe art will understand when it is inappropriate to apply particularVACS to a given solution. In all solutions, it is contemplated that atleast the VCS 100 located within the vehicle 131 itself is capable ofperforming the exemplary processes.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example block topology of a VCS 100 that may beutilized in accordance with geofencing alerts. The VCS 100 maycommunicate with other vehicle controllers 290 to identify geofencedareas 292, determine a current state of the vehicle 131, and invokepredefined actions 294 to assist in preparation for entering theidentified geofenced areas 292.

The vehicle controllers 290 may include one or more vehicle componentsthat may be used to receive vehicle 131 state information and/orcommanded to perform various vehicle 131 operations. As some examples,the VCS 100 may communicate with the GPS device 124 to determine acurrent location of the vehicle 131, with a tire pressure monitor (TPM)to determine tire pressure, with a fuel sensor to detect fuel levels,with oil level, battery level and battery temperature sensors to detectoil and battery state, with seatbelt monitor and occupancy sensors todetermine vehicle 131 occupancy. As some further examples, the VCS 100may communicate with the controllers 290 to operate mechanical functionsof the vehicle 131, such as communicating with a door locking module tolock or unlock vehicle 131 doors, with a window module to roll down orup vehicle 131 windows, with a moon-roof/sun-roof module to roll down orup a roof window, and with light modules to activate or deactivatevehicle 131 lights, or with a wiper controller to activate or deactivatewindshield wipers. Other functions may include activating a headlight orfog lamps of a vehicle, turning on or off a window shade, or activatinga tinted window function. The VCS may communicate with other modules toactivate vehicle features, such as the anti-brake system (ABS),activating stability control, stiffening the suspension, or afuel-economy feature for when the vehicle enters a high-speed geo-fencedzone.

The vehicle 131 may utilize a nomadic device 153 to communicate with thecellular tower 157. In another embodiment, the vehicle 131 may includeits own embedded telematics modem 163 to communicate with the cellulartower 157. The nomadic device 153 or the embedded vehicle modem 163 maycommunicate with tower 157 by sending signals 207 from the vehicle 131.The vehicle 131 may send vehicle 131 data or commands to remote users orlocations utilizing the cellular tower 157. Furthermore, the vehicle 131may retrieve requests or other data packets that may be utilized in thevehicle 131.

The cellular tower 157 may allow the vehicle 131 to communicate with acloud server 209. The cloud server 209 may be an off-board server thatincludes database or access to other databases to retrieve dynamiccontent. The cloud server 209 may be utilized to communicate off-boardinformation that the vehicle 131 may not otherwise be capable ofaccessing. For instance, the cloud server 209 may allow the vehicle 131to retrieve weather data, criminal statistics, or other informationusing signals 211 transmitted between the vehicle 131 and the cellulartower 157. The cloud server 209 may also allow the vehicle 131 tocommunicate with infrastructure 213 remote from the vehicle 131, such asa user's home or office. For instance, the vehicle 131 may utilize thetower 157 communication signal 215 to communicate with home or officeinfrastructure 213. The signals communicated from the vehicle 131 to theinfrastructure 213 may be utilized to activate various systems in theinfrastructure 213 or at another location remote from the vehicle 131,as described further below.

The geo-fenced areas 292 may include virtual perimeters definingboundaries surrounding geographic areas, as well as type informationindicative of attributes of the bounded area. The VCS 100 may maintaininformation indicative of the geo-fenced areas 292, e.g., in thepersistent storage 107 shown in FIG. 1, or at the off-board cloud server209. As discussed herein, the geo-fenced area 292 may be of one of threepredefined types, where each type may coexist or operate as astand-alone feature. However, it should be noted that other embodimentsmay include more or fewer than three types of geo-fenced area 292.

Continuing with the example, a first type of geo-fenced area 292 may bedefined as including high crime or include static data that does notchange daily. The VCS 100 may utilize the navigation database with mapdata identifying such a high-crime area. Or, the VCS 100 may be incommunication with the cloud server 209 to receive data defininghigh-crime areas, e.g., in conjunction with a navigation system. Asecond type of geo-fenced area 292 may be defined based on severeweather or other dynamic data that changes more frequently (e.g. hourly,daily, weekly, etc.). The VCS 100 may receive weather reports fromnational, local, and/or websites to determine weather conditionssurrounding the vehicle 131. A third type of geo-fenced area 292 may beused-defined based on a customer or driver's definition for particularcriteria.

The predefined actions 294 may include one or more functions to betriggered by the VCS 100 according to the vehicle 131 location inrelation to the geo-fenced areas 292. The VCS 100 may maintaininformation indicative of the predefined actions 294, e.g., in thepersistent storage 107 shown in FIG. 1. Predefined actions 294 may betriggered, for example, responsive to the vehicle 131 entering ageo-fenced area 292 and/or responsive to the vehicle 131 reaching apredefined distance or proximity of the geo-fenced area 292.

One or more of the predefined actions 294 may be defined according to atype of the geo-fenced area 292. For example, a first set of actions maybe defined to be automatically triggered by the VCS 100 responsive tovehicle 131 entry or proximity to a first type of geo-fenced area 292, asecond set of actions may be defined to be automatically triggered bythe VCS 100 responsive to vehicle 131 entry or proximity to a secondtype of geo-fenced area 292, and a third set of actions may be definedto be automatically triggered by the VCS 100 responsive to vehicle 131entry or proximity to a third type of geo-fenced area 292.

The predefined actions 294 may include, as some examples, providing analert to the driver, providing an alert to a designated person outsidethe vehicle, rolling up windows, activating one or more safety features,turning on headlights, or requesting an action to be performed by homeor office infrastructure 213. Further aspects of the predefined actions294 are discussed in detail below.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example flow chart 300 of a process of the vehicle131 for performed predefined actions 294 based on vehicle 131 locationrelative to geo-fenced areas 292. In an example, the process may beperformed by a geo-fencing application installed to the VCS 100.

The vehicle 131 may identify the locations of the vehicle 131 and otherdevices at 301. The VCS 100 may utilize the GPS device 124 incommunication with the VCS 100 to identify a current location of thevehicle 131. As another possibility, the VCS 100 may be in communicationwith a nomadic device 153 that includes a GPS receiver integrated withthe nomadic device 153, where the VCS 100 may be configured tocommunicate with the nomadic device 153 to receive GPS data.Additionally or alternately, the nomadic device 153 may be utilized forcell-phone triangulation or RFID to obtain or refine the location of thevehicle 131.

At 303, the VCS 100 may characterize the location to determine if thevehicle 131 is in a geo-fenced area 292 and if so, what type. In anexample, the VCS 100 may utilize the location determined at 301 and thestored geo-fenced area 292 data to identify a type of geo-fenced area292, if any, in which the vehicle 131 is located.

The VCS 100 may determine if the vehicle 131 is entering a geo-fencedarea 292 at 305. The geo-fenced area 292 may include a type one, two, orthree geo-fenced area 292. The VCS 100 may compare the location datadefined by GPS coordinates of the vehicle 131 or nomadic device 153 withthe data defining the geo-fenced area. If the vehicle 131 has notentered a designated area, the vehicle 131 may continue to characterizethe current location to identify if it is in a designated geo-fencedarea 292 at 303. If the vehicle 131 has entered a designated geo-fencedarea 292, the VCS 100 may trigger one or more predefined actions 294associated with the geo-fenced area 292.

Upon entering a designated geo-fenced area 292, the VCS 100 may identifythe predefined actions 294 associated with the geo-fenced area 292.Based on the identified predefined actions 294, the VCS 100 may triggeran alert to a driver, another vehicle 131, or another system via avehicle 131 communication network or wireless communication at 307. Thealert may be created in accordance with the predefined actions 294associated with the type of the geo-fenced area 292 the vehicle 131 hasentered into. In one example, the vehicle 131 may enter a type onegeo-fenced area 292 with high crime. Upon entering a geo-fenced area 292designated with high crime, based on the predefined actions 294 an alertmay be sent to the driver, the driver's parents, spouse, or otheracquaintance defined by contact information. The VCS 100 may include anaddress book that includes names and contact information defined by auser, or be in communication with a remote server or device (e.g. mobilephone) that includes contact information of a driver or user. The VCS100 may allow a user to define which contacts may be notified upon thevehicle 131 entering each different type of geo-fenced area. The VCS 100may send out an alert or notification to a driver's designees or contactfrom the address book either before entering a zone (e.g. by apre-defined distance or pre-defined estimated time of arrival toentering the zone) or after entering a zone. The VCS 100 may also sendout an alert or notification before exiting a zone (e.g. by apre-defined distance or pre-defined estimated time of arrival beforeexiting the zone) or after exiting a zone 292. Furthermore, the VCS 100may allow a user to define a first, second, or sequential contact toalert upon entering each type of geo-fenced area 292 in case ahigher-priority contact is not available. The high-crime geo-fenced area292 may be defined by a specific threshold as related to crimestatistics. The alerts for a high-crime geo-fenced area 292 may includevarious information, including safety check lists, information foremergency numbers (e.g., roadside service numbers, police phone numbers,etc.) and other emergency information, such as where to find anemergency kit in the vehicle 131 or operation of how to use theemergency kit. The alert may be output to the display, the speaker 113,and/or the nomadic device 153. Additionally, the VCS 100 may output thealert to another vehicle 131 or device (e.g. nomadic device 153)utilizing the cloud server 209.

In another scenario, upon entering a geo-fenced area 292 designated witha specific type of weather (e.g., type two geo-fenced area 292), analert may be tailored using the predefined actions 294 corresponding tothe type two geo-fenced area 292 based upon the vehicle 131 enteringthat geo-fenced area 292. In one example, the vehicle 131 may enter atype two geo-fenced area 292 with severe weather or some specificweather. Upon entering a geo-fenced area 292 designated with a type ofweather alert, an alert may be sent to the driver, the driver's parents,spouse, or other acquaintance defined by contact information. Theweather may be defined by a weather broadcast or a severe weather reportthreshold. The alerts for weather may include various information,including driving tips related to that type of weather, information foremergency numbers (e.g., AAA numbers, police phone numbers, etc.),alternative routes to avoid the weather, or suggestions to delay thetrip.

In another scenario, upon entering a geo-fenced area 292 designated witha user-defined criteria (e.g., type three geo-fenced area 292), acustomized alert may be created using the predefined actions 294corresponding to the type three geo-fenced area 292 based upon thevehicle 131 entering that user-defined geo-fenced area 292. Someinstances of user-defined geo-fenced areas 292 may include a geo-fencedarea 292 that are in pre-defined distance from a user's home, close towork, or close to a friend's house. The type three geo-fenced area 292may be defined by a user at the vehicle 131, home computer, or mobilephone. Upon entering a type three geo-fenced area 292, an alert may besent to the driver, the driver's parents, spouse, or other acquaintancedefined by contact information. The alert may notify the contact personof that location and the characterization of that location (e.g., work).The alerts may include making a phone call upon entering the geo-fencedarea 292 (e.g., calling home), sending a text message to a contactperson (e.g., sending a text message to a spouse), or other contact.Furthermore, the alerts may output reminders or suggestions, such as asuggestion to use a local gas station upon the route going to adestination.

The VCS 100 may also take an action based upon the specific type ofgeo-fenced area 292 the vehicle 131 has entered at 309. For example, inthe scenario when the type one geo-fenced area 292 (e.g., high crime)has been entered by a vehicle 131, the VCS 100 may send a message to thevehicle controller 290 to roll up the windows or to activate certainsafety features (e.g., 911-assist). The commands for vehicle 131operation may be defined at the VCS 100 or may be received by a remoteserver for processing at the VCS 100. In another scenario, a vehicle 131entering a type two geo-fenced area 292 (e.g., severe weather) may senda request or command to the vehicle controller 290 to turn on the foglamps and specific weather protective features (e.g., traction controlfor snow, windshield wipers turned on, stability control, etc.). In yetanother scenario, a vehicle 131 entering a type three geo-fenced area292 (e.g., user-defined) may have a tailored command defined by the useror by the vehicle 131. One example includes the VCS 100 sending acommand to turn off or on a home or office's heating or air conditioner,lights, alarms, etc. A vehicle 131 setting may allow a user to associateeach geo-fence area 292 with the various vehicle 131 functions or otheractions.

The vehicle 131 may also provide recommendations based upon theenvironment of the vehicle 131 as associated with the geo-fenced area292. For example, the VCS 100 may consider if a driver cannot reach adestination without stopping for fuel, and there may be a hazardouscondition associated with a geo-fenced area 292 along the route. The VCS100 may recommend refueling prior to entering the geo-fenced area 292.Thus, the VCS 100 may recommend refueling prior to entering thegeo-fenced area 292 by calculating the estimated vehicle 131 fuel range,the estimated distance to various boundaries of the geo-fenced area 292,and the estimated distance to various destinations. If the VCS 100calculates that refueling will likely be required due to a low fuelstate within the geo-fenced area 292, the VCS 100 may recommend that theuser refuel before entering the geo-fenced area 292. Otherrecommendations may be utilized based on vehicle 131 sensors andpredictability of the environment of the vehicle 131 as associated withthe geo-fenced area 292. For example, recommendations based upon thevehicle 131 entering a specific geo-fenced area 292 may includedetermining the tire pressure of the vehicle 131 and recommend addingair to the tires, recommendations related to the windshield wipers beingactivated or the windshield wiper settings, determining a mobile phone'sbattery level and recommending charging the phone, etc.

The vehicle 131 may also provide various recommendations based on thecriteria of the geo-fenced area 292. For example, the VCS 100 may alwaysroute around high weather conditions, such as severe weather, orhigh-crime conditions. In another instance, the VCS 100 may sometimesroute around certain other conditions, such as mild weather or slightlyhigher than normal crime conditions. Thus, in one example, the VCS 100may always avoid high-crime geo-fenced areas 292 at all times, but onlyavoid certain other geo-fenced areas 292 if a current fuel state makesit possible to stop in one of those geo-fenced areas 292. A pre-defineddriver profile may be used to define such geo-fenced areas 292. Thedriver profile may be stored, as some examples, to the VCS 100 or to theuser's nomadic device 153.

The VCS 100 may also consider the destination of the user fordetermining the geo-fence. The VCS 100 may select a destination andimport parameters (e.g., fence, weather, etc.) associated with a vehicle131 or driver and develop geo-fenced areas 292 between the location anddestination. Using the geo-fenced areas 292, the VCS 100 may determine aroute, if possible, that avoids all geo-fenced areas 292 or minimizescontacts with the geo-fenced areas 292. There may be alternativewaypoints that may be routed around multiple geo-fenced areas 292 at thebeginning of guidance. The VCS 100 may provide a route specifying travelthrough a geo-fenced area 292, but with minimum contacts as possible toavoid those geo-fenced areas 292. Thus, rather than completely avoidingthe geo-fenced areas 292, the VCS 100 may simply minimize thosecontacts. The VCS 100 may maintain a map database (e.g., in storage 107,to a remote server such as cloud server 209) to calculate various routesto proceed to a destination. The VCS 100 may compare the driving timewithin a boundary of the geo-fenced areas 292. The VCS 100 may comparethe various routes to determine a minimum driving time.

Upon taking the actions based on the geo-fenced area 292, the VCS 100may also allow the primary driver/customers to turn off the alert at311. If the option to set the alert off is activated, the VCS 100 mayignore the alert if the appropriate driver or user has access to do so.Prior to sending an alert or taking action, the VCS 100 may also notifya user that he or she has an option to cancel the action or alert. Onlyspecific users may be allowed to turn off the alert at 313. For example,the VCS 100 may recognize the driver based on wireless signalsindicating presence of the nomadic device 153 or key fob. If the usercannot be authenticated as being the driver based on the nomadic device153 or key fob, the user cannot cancel the notifications. Thus, ateenage driver utilizing a parent's car (or another car) may not haveaccess to turn off the alerts. The VCS 100 may determine that the driverhas the approval to turn off or on the alerts for each geo-fenced areatype. Furthermore, the geo-fenced area may be defined by the driver. Forexample, a novice driver may be requested to avoid a high-crime area,but an experienced driver may not receive such requests.

FIG. 4 is an illustrative flow chart 400 of a process for updatinggeo-fenced area 292 data by the VCS 100. The VCS 100 may be incommunication with a remote server, such as the cloud server 209, forupdating data flowing to the VCS 100. Data packets may be sent to theVCS 100 and upon being received at the vehicle 131, the packets may bede-packetized to obtain relevant data and information. The VCS 100 mayfirst determine if an update cycle is appropriate at 401. The VCS 100may utilize push notifications from a remote server or a user's nomadicdevice 153 to determine if the update is appropriate.

Upon establishing that an update cycle is appropriate, the VCS 100 mayreceive a request from a user for either a manual or automatic update at403. A request for either a manual or automatic update may be presentedto the user by a vehicle display 104, vehicle speaker 113, or other typeof user interface. The nomadic device 153 may also allow such a request.Thus, the user may require map data to be updated, weather information,crime information, or other information related to the geo-fence to beupdated. The VCS 100 may receive data indicating which updates areavailable at 405. Such information may include using updated governmentcrime-rate database or updated weather report data. The data may beretrieved by the VCS 100 utilizing either the nomadic device 153 or bydirectly communicating with the cloud server 209 remotely from thenomadic device 153.

The VCS 100 may determine the appropriate data pipe input for the dataat 407. The VCS 100 may receive information related to the update sizeto define the appropriate circumstances for updating the data. In oneexample, the data may be large in size (e.g., greater than a predefinedthreshold number of bytes), thus the VCS 100 may wait to receive anupdate by utilizing a wireless connection. In another embodiment, theuser may utilize nomadic devices 153 in the vehicle 131 to retrieve thedata. The data may also be received via a connection of the modem 163 toa telecommunications network. The data may be accompanied in variousformats, and may be obtained in data packets that may be laterde-packetized.

The VCS 100 may receive updated statistics information at 409 related tothe crime rate or weather data. The information may be sent from aremote server upon determining the appropriate pipe to transmit the datathrough. The information may be limited to a specific region or relateto the whole map database. In one instance, the updated information mayapply to the entire map database, while another update may apply to aspecific region, state, city, etc. The VCS 100 may also store theupdated information either on-board at the vehicle 131 or off-board at aremote server at 411. The VCS 100 may determine to store the informationat either site based on various factors, including where the vehicle 131is located or storage capacity of the VCS 100.

Upon receiving notification of an update, the VCS 100 may then determineif the updates are similar to the previous update at 413. If the updatesare the same or contain overlapping updates that do not require anupdated based on the vehicles setting, the VCS 100 will ignore theupdates. If the updates are not the same, the VCS 100 may update thedata onto the mapping system of the VCS 100 or off-board server at 415.Such updates may take place during guidance or after route guidance hasbeen completed.

FIG. 5 is an illustrative embodiment of a geo-fencing application outputon the vehicle display 104. The vehicle display 104 may work incoordination with a navigation application of the VCS 100, or a remoteserver, to include a geo-fencing application. The display 104 may outputa current vehicle position (CVP) 501 of the vehicle 131 on a map. TheCVP 501 may be determined utilizing GPS coordinates and other vehicle131 sensors (e.g. accelerometer, gyroscope, etc.) to show where avehicle 131 is located. As the vehicle 131 travels, the CVP 501 willchange and be updated on the display 104.

The vehicle 131 may utilize a navigation application, or anotherapplication on the vehicle 131, nomadic device 153, or server, tonavigate to a destination 502. The navigation application may determinea route 503 to direct a user to the destination 502. The route 503 maybreak a geo-fenced boundary 505 while navigating to the destination 502.As explained above, the geo-fenced boundary 505 may be calculated basedon a specific driver or a location of the vehicle 131 within a hazardousarea, among other things. In certain embodiments, the geo-fencedboundary 505 will establish a geo-fenced area 507 around a hazardousarea that may include high-crime rates, severe weather conditions, oruser-defined boundaries. The navigation application may determine analternative route for the driver to be able to enter the destination 502without breaking the geo-fenced boundary 505 and avoiding a geo-fencedarea 507. While alternative routes may exist that completely avoid thegeo-fenced area 507, such as an alternative route 509, the navigationapplication may output an alternative route that simply minimizes thetravel time within geo-fenced area 507.

While exemplary embodiments are described above, it is not intended thatthese embodiments describe all possible forms encompassed by the claims.The words used in the specification are words of description rather thanlimitation, and it is understood that various changes can be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Aspreviously described, the features of various embodiments can becombined to form further embodiments of the invention that may not beexplicitly described or illustrated. While various embodiments couldhave been described as providing advantages or being preferred overother embodiments or prior art implementations with respect to one ormore desired characteristics, those of ordinary skill in the artrecognize that one or more features or characteristics can becompromised to achieve desired overall system attributes, which dependon the specific application and implementation. These attributes caninclude, but are not limited to cost, strength, durability, life cyclecost, marketability, appearance, packaging, size, serviceability,weight, manufacturability, ease of assembly, etc. As such, embodimentsdescribed as less desirable than other embodiments or prior artimplementations with respect to one or more characteristics are notoutside the scope of the disclosure and can be desirable for particularapplications.

1. A system, comprising: a wireless transceiver configured tocommunicate with a mobile device; and a processor programmed to: outputto a driver a vehicle low-fuel alert indicating a fuel station locationin an area remote from a high-crime area in response to a vehiclereaching a pre-defined distance from a boundary of the high-crime area;and activate a predefined vehicle safety function addressing thehigh-crime area based upon the vehicle entering the boundary.
 2. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured todetermine a route to a destination that minimizes driving time withinthe high-crime area.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the high-crimearea is defined by a map database associated with a vehicle computersystem.
 4. (canceled)
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the predefinedvehicle safety function includes at least one of closing a window,closing a moon-roof, activating a fog lamp, activating a window shade,or locking a door.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor isfurther configured to identify the vehicle safety function based upon auser definition of predefined actions specifying the vehicle safetyfunction addressing the high-crime area.
 7. The system of claim 1,wherein the processor is further configured to send a request to aremote server to activate a predefined remote safety function at alocation associated with the driver and remote from the vehicle, inresponse to reaching the boundary of the high-crime area.
 8. The systemof claim 1, wherein the boundary of the high-crime area is configured tobe defined according to data received from a remote server or adjustedby a user.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to receive update information from a remote server of a mapdatabase of a vehicle computer system defining the boundary.
 10. Amethod, comprising: determining a driver of a vehicle utilizing one ormore vehicle controllers; responsively receiving one or more geo-fencesassociated with the driver and a high-crime area along a route definedby route data; outputting an alert to the driver indicating a locationof the high-crime area when the vehicle is within a pre-defined distanceof the geo-fence; outputting an alert identifying a location of a fuelstation in an area remote from the high-crime area based upondetermining a low fuel level of the vehicle will be reached uponentering the high-crime area; and activating a predefined vehiclefunction addressing the high-crime area and in response to a requestfrom a remote server based upon the vehicle entering a boundary of thegeo-fence.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the one or more vehiclecontrollers is configured to communicate with a key fob to determine anidentity of the driver.
 12. The method of claim 10, wherein the one ormore vehicle controller includes a wireless transceiver configured tocommunicate with a mobile device, and further comprising outputting thealert to the driver using the mobile device.
 13. (canceled)
 14. Themethod of claim 10, wherein the vehicle function includes at least oneof automatically closing a window, closing a moon-roof, or locking adoor.
 15. The method of claim 10, wherein the geo-fence is user-defined.16. The method of claim 10, wherein the vehicle function is activationof a vehicle controller associated with a type of geo-fence that thevehicle entered.
 17. A system, comprising: a processor configured to, inresponse to identifying a driver of a vehicle and a vehicle route,establish a geo-fence corresponding to the driver and a high-crime ratearea along the route, and outputting an alert identifying a location ofa fuel station in an area remote from the high-crime area based upondetermining a low fuel level of the vehicle will be reached uponentering the high-crime area.
 18. The system of claim 17, wherein theprocessor is further configured to execute commands to request a vehiclecontroller to activate a mechanical vehicle function addressing the areabased upon entering a boundary of the geo-fence, and output avehicle-function alert to the driver indicating activation of thefunction.
 19. The system of claim 18, wherein the vehicle-function alertincludes an option to cancel activation of the mechanical vehiclefunction.
 20. The system of claim 17, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to execute commands to request a remote server to activate aremote function at a location associated with the driver and remote fromthe vehicle, in response to entering a boundary of the geo-fence. 21.The system of claim 18, wherein the mechanical vehicle function includesone of at least closing a window, closing a moon-roof, and locking adoor